NEW YORK CITY-As multifamily trades continue to heat up in the Bronx, a nine-building portfolio in the Longwood section of the borough has changed hands for $33.25 million, GlobeSt.com has confirmed. Investment sales firm Ariel Property Advisors represented the seller, an unnamed Bronx-based partnership, and procured the buyer, Omni New York LLC, a real estate development company focused on the revitalization of neighborhoods, on the transaction.

Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Partners, tells GlobeSt.com that the 372-unit, Section 8 portfolio garnered a dozen bids within two weeks of marketing – a sign that the Bronx has been a hotbed for apartment transactions and reinvestment activity. “It has been a relatively active borough compared to years beforehand,” he says. “We’ve seen a lot of workouts in the multifamily sector going through the Bronx, mostly in 2010 and some in 2011. Only now we are seeing a lot of larger transactions change hands.”

The portfolio, which is subsidized under the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be preserved as affordable for years to come, Shkury says. The buildings are located at 737 Southern Boulevard, 663 Fox Street, 665 Fox Street, 712 Fox Street, 751 Fox Street, 766 Fox Street, 772-774 Fox Street and 784 Fox Street, near the Longwood Avenue 6 train.